Jeffries Will Vote to Impeach Hegseth as Trump Defends Pentagon Chief

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday that he will vote to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, calling himself “a hard yes” on the resolution. President Donald Trump responded the same day by defending his Pentagon chief, according to the BBC.

Jeffries spoke on ABC’s “This Week” hours before Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, was expected to reintroduce his impeachment resolution as early as Monday. Jeffries accused Hegseth of abusing his power and engineering a costly war of choice in Iran. “Pete Hegseth has got to go,” he said.

The numbers behind the impeachment push

• Eight articles of impeachment. Massie has filed eight articles. The BBC reported they allege Hegseth waged war on Iran without the congressional authorization required under the War Powers Resolution of 1973.
• Two legislative days. Astig.ph reported that a privileged resolution must be scheduled for a floor vote within two legislative days under House rules. That is why Massie’s move could force a vote this week.
• 254 House seats. The BBC said Democrats hold a 254-seat majority in the House, with some midterm races still uncalled.
• 218 votes. That is the threshold to pass articles of impeachment, according to the BBC. Democrats are well above it, though no public whip count has been released.
• Two-thirds of the Senate. Removing an official requires a two-thirds Senate vote. The BBC said Democrats would fall well short and would need Republicans to join them.
• $1.5 trillion. Sen. Thom Tillis told CBS News that Hegseth’s strained relationship with lawmakers is undermining the push for a defense spending package of this size, according to Astig.ph.

How Trump and the Pentagon are responding

Trump told CBS News’ “60 Minutes” that the impeachment effort is very unfair and said the U.S. had won two wars, naming Venezuela and Iran, the BBC reported. Astig.ph reported that Trump told reporters Thursday he has every intention of keeping Hegseth and called the charges a product of personal political attacks.

The Pentagon told the BBC that it had followed the law and that Hegseth would not be deterred by what it called phony investigations. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told USA Today that the department is unified behind the secretary’s vision.

Last week Hegseth released a video of nearly six minutes urging Congress to approve the Pentagon’s latest budget request before the Republican-controlled legislature’s final days run out, the BBC reported. In it, he dismissed the impeachment effort as political theater and said it would not work against him.

Why it matters: a lame-duck House and a defense budget in limbo

Republicans still control the House until the new Congress is sworn in, and Democrats take over both chambers in January, CBS News reported. That means a vote this week would happen in a chamber still run by Hegseth’s own party, with Massie, who is leaving Congress at the end of his term and has repeatedly clashed with Trump, driving the effort.

The timing also puts pressure on the defense budget. Hegseth is lobbying for the Pentagon’s request during the final days of the current Congress, while Tillis, a Republican, says the tension with lawmakers is hurting that effort. Astig.ph reported that Vice President JD Vance publicly questioned this week whether the Iran war was worth it and said it cost Republicans control of Congress.

Even if the House impeaches Hegseth, the Senate math makes removal unlikely without significant Republican defections, the BBC said. Jeffries has said House Democrats are not currently focused on impeaching Trump, who was impeached twice in his first term.

What happens next

Jeffries said House Democrats will discuss the resolution Tuesday morning, when members gather in Washington for the first time since the election. He said he expects incredibly strong support. The key tests are whether Massie formally raises the privileged resolution Monday and whether House leaders schedule a vote within the two-day window.

Earlier on Around Prague: Hegseth Impeachment Vote: Democrats Need 3 Republicans, Massie Included

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Around Prague, based on reporting by astig.ph, BBC